Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, it’s seems everyone, including your students, talk about ways the Internet let’s them stay in touch and see what others are doing. Since many of your students are already there, have you been curious if any of these tools might keep them engaged in your class? Do you ever wonder if there might be some time effective ways to communicate with their parents? GoogleDocs, Adobe ConnectNow, iGoogle, Flicker, animoto, earth album, Teacher Tube, blogs, virtual labs and yes, even Facebook and Twitter can help you add dimension and interest to your class. Discover tips to use a variety of social media and online tools to help your students. You will also spend some time discussing ways to overcome resistance you might encounter in using these programs. For any teacher interested in social media, from beginners to advanced social networkers.

One month course

Course Outline

Unit 1.
Social Media & Online Tools
The evolution of social media
A sampling of the tools
Role of smartphones
Overcoming your fear

Unit 4.
Techno Resistance and Future Trends
What do you mean you aren’t on Facebook? The non-techno members of a web savvy generation.
The “wave” of the future
Overcoming district and parental resistance

About online learning

Online learning is a fun, enjoyable and very productive way to learn. Millions of people are learning online each year. You will engage with the instructor and other participants. You will get to know your instructor and other participants. You may make friends. It’s easy. It’s fun.

How the Course Works

It is easy to participate in your online course. After you register, you will be given a web address to go to get into your online classroom. You will have a password and use your email address and password to gain access.

Once inside the online classroom, here’s what you can expect.

Participate when you want

You can participate any time of day or evening. The online classroom is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
There are no live real-time requirements or meetings. You decide when you participate.
For the best learning, participants should log into the course on 2-3 different days of the week.

What you will do

For each Unit, you will:

Read the print readings (about 20 pages a week)

Have the option of accessing the online readings

Listen to the audio presentation for the Unit and view the slides

Have the option of taking a self-quiz to see how much you have learned

Engage in written online discussion with your instructor and other participants

For best learning, you should make one or more comments at 2-3 different times each week.
The content (readings, audio lectures, slides) and self quizzes are accessible for the entire course, so you can work ahead, or go back and review again, at your convenience.

Discussion

The Discussion for each Unit lasts one week. All comments are made in writing and can be made at any time of the day or night.

Your instructor will log into the Discussion area at least once a day and answer questions, make comments, and respond to comments by you and the other participants.

We encourage you to make 2-3 comments each week to maximize your learning and enjoyment of the course.

Dan Torrez has worked side by side with teachers and school administrators to implement successful social media strategies. For teachers and administrators who have struggled with finding the right social media approach, Dan has helped to ease technology fears, grow understanding of the ways social media can benefit instruction and learning, and build strategic, easy-to-follow plans for successful social media implementation. His experience working in public schools and with youth and community education programs gives Dan a uniquely varied social media expertise that appeals to teachers, parents and youth.

What some students say:

"My knowledge about existing technologies and how to use them has increased immensely during this class." - Cara Good

Course Objectives

To provide teachers with a good overview of online tools and social media

To provide teachers information on how they could employ online tools and social media for a variety of subjects and classroom settings, whether face-to-face or online.

To assist teachers in developing a viable plan in incorporating online tools and social media in their instruction.

Course Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course, you will:

Upon successful completion of this course, you will:

Have a stronger understanding of a variety of online tools and social media.

Increase your comfort level in being able to use a variety of social media on online tools.

Be able to create strategies for the incorporation of social media into your instructional techniques.

Develop viable reasoning for the value online tools and social media have for educational purposes.